Rescue by Calder Valley team at UK's highest beach sparks safety warning

Volunteers for the Calder Valley Search and Rescue team have issued a safety warning as they were faced with unnecessary challenges during a callout to the UK's highest beach.
The Rescue at Gaddings DamThe Rescue at Gaddings Dam
The Rescue at Gaddings Dam

The team were called out to Gaddings Dam in Todmorden at 1.20pm yesterday (Sunday). The CVSRT was alerted to an incident involving a female who had fallen sustaining a suspected broken arm.

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Once on-scene, team members provided the woman with care and pain relief.

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Following further assessment by a team paramedic, it was decided that the casualty was unable to safely walk off the moors, so the lady was packaged and stretchered for a mile to the road where an ambulance was waiting.

However, the CVSRT stressed two major safety concerns during the rescue.

A spokesperson said: "Firstly, Gaddings Dam was extremely busy again with several hundred visitors causing access issues along Lumbutts Road.

"If you are visiting the area please be considerate and leave access for emergency vehicles.

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"Secondly, as we evacuated the casualty across moorland paths, it was extremely saddening to see several discarded cigarettes in the dry grasses.

"This reckless littering is one of the main causes of wildfires that we are seeing daily in the news so stop it. Please help prevent moorland wildfires, which are decimating the countryside.

"If you see smoke or fire on the moors, please call 999 immediately – don’t assume someone else has already reported it."

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